Stats

Comments Posted By AlphaBitch

Displaying 1,321 To 1,350 Of 2,240 Comments

Is All That Anger Out There Making You Mad?

CAT!!! I go to Pagosa Springs; it is one hour from Durango (east). You simply MUST go. We are there 8/7 and 8/8; any chance we can meet? Send me an email; our computer crashed and I lost so many addresses.

I’m also going to Telluride, Mesa Verde and Santa Fe. Will have the Blov and the Alpha Pup in tow….

» Posted By AlphaBitch On July 1, 2011 @ 8:54 am

Here is my motto, expressed in voice by the lovely Patty Griffin: I Don’t Ever Give Up. Whenever we try and pull something off for the good of Afghanistan, and we face the immeasurable hurdles – danger, corruption, incompetence – I remind them: You don’t have to be richer, more powerful or stronger than your enemy. You just have to be smarter. So far, we’ve won. Not the war, but the battles. My belief is the battles will add up one day.

Let the anger fuel you, don’t let it destroy you. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

» Posted By AlphaBitch On July 1, 2011 @ 5:19 am

Middle East Update

Bito: The war is never far from some of us. As it becomes more and more likely we will leave and the situation will deteriorate, it becomes more imperative to me that my kids are safe.

Going to MO to meet the MO Girl’s family and to watch this brilliant young woman graduate from college in December – she’s my FIRST graduate. Then coming back with my Syrian daughter and her fiancee. After they leave, will host the Baby Girl and the Babiest Girl (Baby Girl’s younger sister). Plus assorted others, and Inshallah, the boy who is due back for school this spring.

So for some of us, it is not forgotten. Thank you so much for posting this video. Khirad is TOTALLY forgiven, as he has spent so much time and effort to educate us on ME issues.

See you all soon. – AB

» Posted By AlphaBitch On November 15, 2012 @ 10:07 am

Oh mighty Khirad – HARAM???????? Tsk tsk (hand me the tequila)

» Posted By AlphaBitch On August 14, 2012 @ 3:35 pm

WAIT – trick question! He did not actually slaughter Ishmael; he slaughtered a goat when Ishmael was spared. So is the correct answer “buz” (Dari)? As in Buzkashi, the sport of which I had so hoped to form a girl’s league in AFG? Ok, off to shower now. – AB

» Posted By AlphaBitch On November 7, 2011 @ 4:21 am

Khirad: Ishmael!!!!! Hagar’s son. Wow. Sad that I so suck at MB trivia – seriously, I guessed Doris Day had been attacked by a herd of sheep. But I seem to do better here, when I CAN check in.

Ask Kalima or AdLib to give you my address. Why the bounce back, I wonder. Haven’t changed it. Didn’t get one from DOS either, that was being sent as we spoke. Wierd.

» Posted By AlphaBitch On November 7, 2011 @ 4:12 am

Pup says yeah, divar is board/wall. And in Persian takhte would be pronounced tahk-teh (like tahk-tay, with the Herati accent as opposed to the Kabuli/Dari one of tahk-tah).

Haven’t told you how I love the Arabic lessons, but I have so little time right now. Least I can go back. You doing a youtube version?

Did I tell you I can count to 10 now in Dari? Watch out world! And I know the word for donkey (sounds like “har” with that guttural thingy at the beginning). Oh, how we learn!

» Posted By AlphaBitch On September 21, 2011 @ 6:55 pm

And I don’t know the trivia answers – but I was close on jinn.

Now, you simply must see the old film Sinbad the Sailor, with one of the Barrymores. I laughed so hard, I almost choked! GREAT dialogue, and what a poseur! One of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. In fact, think I’ll go pop it in. – AB

» Posted By AlphaBitch On September 21, 2011 @ 3:01 pm

Pup says the saying in Dari is “You say it to the door so that the wall hears it.”

» Posted By AlphaBitch On September 21, 2011 @ 2:57 pm

Hi Khirad: 1)Jinns are genies, so I’m guessing they are made of smoke. 2)They play tricks and can be evil at times. At least this is how they were described to me by my chibolastis years ago. Hope I remembered it correctly.

How’d I do? I’ll try and check tomorrow, but keeping focused on Kabul at present. Time & effort going to check in with them.

Also, I have been in touch – infrequently, but enough so that I don’t freak out – with my friend in Syria. We NEVER discuss what is actually happening, just quick “love you” type of notes, but it brings me comfort to know they are alive. -AB

» Posted By AlphaBitch On September 14, 2011 @ 12:27 pm

Khirad: ?The Blov just came in and said Turkey has kicked out the Israeli Ambassador and is going after them for the deaths during the blockade! Your take? And doesn’t Turkey currently supply the opium used for medical purposes? Wow. Interesting….

» Posted By AlphaBitch On September 2, 2011 @ 3:42 pm

KQ: TOO cute. I love it! Dicquat? Dicksquat, is what I call “it”.

OT, but so little time to “post shop” to get to TOOT – I want to make a bumper sticker w/ Rick Perry’s quote “Let me tell you, I”m in ALL THE WAY!” on it; underneath say “..as Rick Perry has had to explain to numerous girls, guys and unsuspecting livestock….”

What do you think, oh great one? – AB

» Posted By AlphaBitch On August 21, 2011 @ 5:31 pm

K: Yes ma’am. Don’t forget to eat. I’ve got to go to bed early; two weeks intense work for me (Board meeting). But I’ll wake up tomorrow and it will be a brand new ……SQUIRREL!

» Posted By AlphaBitch On August 21, 2011 @ 5:28 pm

K: Shooting at a poster is A-OK with me! I once wanted to design a “Pin the Nose on the Dick” (Cheney) game; got sidetracked……Can you BELIEVE that? I was…SQUIRREL!

» Posted By AlphaBitch On August 21, 2011 @ 5:16 pm

Khirad – I think it’s because I typed her name the other day and you responded. Called for the devil, so to say.

I thought she was dead (wishful thinking, my part). Truth be told, so much face work that she looks like Joan Rivers now. UGG-ly!

I still think we need to give her a lesson, somehow someway. With your brains and my balls (!), we could take her on – easily.

Take care, and don’t let the Joanne Herrings bite!

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 29, 2011 @ 12:03 pm

Khirad! Just watched a clip on CNN (will NOT watch Morning Joe anymore) and saw…….dum de dum dum…..JOANNE HERRING on, blathering about her idea to help Afghanistan. It sounded so credible, and might be in the hands of someone not stained by what they had done FOR Pakistan, ISI, Zia al-Haq. My mind exploded.

She also listed her website. Her name and dot com. Maybe we should “school” her??????? – AB

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 29, 2011 @ 5:59 am

The Radical Chic Pay Lip Service to the Poor

hey Kes – maybe Kucinich’s toupee is on too tight??? Always gives me a headache….

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 29, 2011 @ 12:05 pm

Weekend Music Thread – Love and Marriage

And mi sancho, Raul. It doesn’t matter how little his “guitar” (is it a ukelele?), the man has the pipes to deliver!! In what HAS to be the most bizarre video to one of the best songs ever – I Said I Love You.

And since we are anonymous here, and I have never met him nor seen a photo, I picture AdLib as el gringo borracho en la camisa de Hawaii. Groovin’ and leadin’ us all…..

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 26, 2011 @ 6:41 am

Forgive the 80s hair and stylin’. No one could touch John Cowan’s version of Good Woman’s Love. Glad to report his hair is no longer as frightening. Check out around 1:40. The man has some pipes.

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 26, 2011 @ 6:34 am

WATCH LIVE: Pres. Obama’s Speech on Afghanistan

Kes: Done. Can you drive them over? I’m busy typing at the moment…Can’t wait to meet ya! – AB

PS I’ll throw in some non-healthy Cookies and Cream ice cream. It’s calling to me “Eat me during Jon Stewart!” Don’t mind if I do…..

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 7:06 pm

Khirad: you, dear brother, need no excuse. Not now, not ever.

The Pup is blown away by how smart you are. And he’s a clever one, himself. Not easily impressed. Nor am I.

BTW; I’ve heard from my Syrian several times. Brief and quick, no real news, just a “hey – thinkin’ of you”. But at least that way I know they are OK……..

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 6:28 pm

And that’s my boy……….I’m proud of you, Pup! Well put. Your words, your ideas.

See Planet people? I’m knowledgeable on this topic BECAUSE of these kids.

I always find it helpful to go to the source, and to listen. I trust them and their views more than news or politicians. Well, at least MOST of them. For just like here, there can be differing opinions.

But the one thing I am most proud of in my life is that in my home, in my life, Afghans are one. There IS no Hazara vs. Pashtun vs. Tajik. They think of the others as brothers/sisters. They are Afghans, and they are beautiful. Those with whom I’ve shared photos and stories can validate.

And I will be making an announcement about some of the students soon. Sigh. I’ll need a bigger vest, as the buttons seem to be popping off the one I have…..but you will have to wait! (tease)

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 6:24 pm

Hey kes: don’t get too excited. The tandoori veggies were offered as a sidedish; he decided we should have them to “eat healthy”. There are many left in the frig, if you want them.

BTW: your nephew Pup’s favorite dish in the world is ……… PASTA. Pasta anything. The boy is half Italian, I swear!

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 6:18 pm

KQuark: Agreed, but you need to admit “they are just not that into us”. Helping the Pakistani PEOPLE is good; helping the ISI – well, not so much.

I’m sure that the primary reason we are hanging on in Afghanistan is because of Pakistan. Afghanistan’s minerals are taken by China. They are important to us primarily because of their geographic location. Sad, but true.

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 6:15 pm

Hey “Auntie” kes! I have to teach the Pup that you are his Khala Kes. I’m sure you will hear from him; dinner is ready, and we are off to eat some tandoori dish the Blov has made…..

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 4:01 pm

Khirad! I agree 100%. That little monster….grrrrr! I can’t remember how he snookered Joanne into coming onboard with him, but it was something sneaky, I’m sure. Darn it! Now I’ll have to go drag out CW War and re-read it.

That book took me nine months to read. I have never in my life taken such a long time to read anything. I remember I could read a few paragraphs or pages, then I would have to stop because I felt my head would explode in pure disbelief.

I had met Charlie Wilson when I worked for a lobbyist in Austin. What a schmutz. After learning what he did (I met him in 1982), I wanted so much to see him again. I even hunted down his address in Lufkin and thought about driving out to visit him, but he died before I went.

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 3:59 pm

Thanks, ADONAI. Your input means a lot. You’ll have to read the Pup’s take – he IS an Afghan, he HAS family still there, so it means more to him than to either you or me. I think the idea of offering all who want to come asylum is nice, like world peace, but will never happen for a myriad of reasons. I will have six of my seven children who completed the program to train future leaders of Afghanistan back in the US by next month, with one more to go. I want to hold them all tight and never let them go, but it IS their country, their fight. I just want to give them all the advantages I can, with education and a chance to live in peace for four years or more while they get that education.

For better or worse, since the 1970s, our future and Afghanistan’s are interconnected in a way we both probably would like to be different. It’s why I fight my own “war” with my own “army” of smart, talented, wonderful, beautiful and superb children. As I told my Missouri girl, you don’t have to be richer, stronger or meaner than the competition/your enemy; you just have to be smarter! And they are.

Thanks again AD. I love how people DO care, and it’s why I’m here and why I share my experiences, when I should be working……now, back to work!

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 12:01 pm

Adonai: Interesting points, but here are a few other statistics:

1,000,000 Afghans were killed during the period of Soviet occupation (1978 to 1989).

400,000 Afghans were killed during the period of 1989/1990 to 2001, when NO foreign forces were “officially” occupying their country. It was a civil war only, and what is thought of by many Afghans as one of the bloodiest times in their history. Afghans killing Afghans for the most part. Gulbuddin Hekmatyr.

30,000 Afghans have been killed since 2001-2011. That is, without a doubt, far too many. But look at it from the preceding 20+ years. Puts it into perspective.

As to the numbers: if you assume that the majority of whom you are referring to in the south/east are Pashtun, remember that they make up 42% of the total population of Afghanistan. Therefore, a survey which shows 50% think military operations are bad would break down to 21% of the total population. Likewise, 58% thinking it is wrong to work with foreign sources would mean 24% of the total population, etc.

I’m not disagreeing with some of your reasoning, but it is important to realize the high percentages refer to less than half the total population. Tajiks, who are believed to make up 27%, and Hazara, who make up about 10%, should also be counted.

I do agree with your sentence in the last paragraph that had 9/11 not happened, we would not be in Afghanistan. I also agree with the futility and sheer idiocy of allying our country with Pakistan. Thank Joanne Herring for that one. And Charlie Wilson’s priaprism. And Zia Haq’s cleverness in seeing a sucker in these two. – AB

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 11:14 am

Hola, amigos y amigas! Wow, this was the hot topic for the night. Sorry I missed it, cuz you KNOW how I like to weigh in here (unlike the gym).

Lots of passion and spirited discussion, lots of varying viewpoints. Well done.

As most of you know, I have spent five years getting to know about 70 Afghans, mostly children who came on high school exchange. Of those 70, about 8 are “mine” (meaning the kids) and 7 more are my “family” of refugees (we hyphenate our names when together). There are Pashtun, Hazara and Tajik among them, and some hybrids. Needless to say, there are also different opinions.

I have read MOST books about Afghanistan, and can claim as a personal friend Sarah Chayes, the former NPR reporter and tireless giver of time and attention and life to the effort to build a better country.

I followed Afghanistan from the late 1970s, after the Soviets began their occupation. I was with a man from Canada who had spent lots of time actually IN Afghanistan (don’t ask – I didn’t, and when I did, I was sorry I had). After the Soviets left, I was amazed his prediction that the Afghans would never accept an occupier had proved prophetic against such a large empire. Then I lost interest.

Fast forward to 2001, when I saw the film “Beneath the Veil” and found myself drawn back in. When Massoud was assassinated on 9/9/01, I turned to the Blov and remarked it was going to get really, really ugly. I had no idea 9/11 would occur, just knew something big was getting ready to happen.

So I went back to work, studying this mystical place. And I found others were drawn to it like me. I found my wonderful, special children whom I still believe hold the key for some future IF Afghanistan can pull itself together.

And that is the key. I felt we abandoned Afghanistan and the Afghan people (Afghanis, by the way, is the term for their money, not the people) when we lost interest and walked away after the Soviet occupation. READ Charlie Wilson’s War, DON’T just watch the movie.

So when we went in October 2001, I for one was hopeful that it would herald great changes. When we switched almost immediately to Iraq (post shock and awe), I was angry and depressed. Over time, so were the Afghans. In time, our allegiance with and to Karzai made us far from credible partners, when corruption became so widely accepted (note: this is why the Taliban seemed so attractive in the first place).

Now, some ten years later, and after applying a better effort, I don’t know what to think.

What I believe is that we will leave, it will fall apart (again, following 30 years of history). However, for the FIRST TIME EVER, there are young people who are educated, who love and depend on technology, and who may – just may – resent going back to the seventh century. These young people may be the ones to fight back. And that is what gives me hope.

There will be much more bloodshed and misery in the interim. But maybe it shouldn’t be ours. They now have “fair warning” that our presence can’t/won’t continue as it had, and will have to step up to the plate themselves. Let us hear cries of “Death to the Taliban” instead of only “Death to America”.

Remember: this is one of the ten poorest nations on earth, despite bountiful resources (and not even counting the poppies). It is one of the most illiterate, too. Therein lies the problem.

But I have come to believe it is THEIR country, first and foremost, and that they themselves MUST be part of the fight, not just sit and wait for someone to do it for them, or sit back and be the recipients of aid. Sure, it will be hard and bloody and bad. But it should not be ours to do FOR them. With them? I’m still in. For them? I’m out.

That’s just my POV. The Pup is writing his own piece for this, so stay tuned. (BTW: I could not be more proud of this guy. He is truly the best.) – AB

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 23, 2011 @ 9:32 am

A Viewers Guide to Tonight’s GOP Debate in NH

Burqaroos. (sorry -it’s a hit and run post)

» Posted By AlphaBitch On June 13, 2011 @ 7:27 pm